Guest Opinion: Asian grass carp threaten Great Lakes

Thursday

Nov 14, 2013 at 1:00 PM

The (Toledo) Blade

Invasive Asian grass carp were imported from China in the 1970s to control plant growth in ponds. Of course, they escaped. Now, they and their more-voracious cousins — bighead and silver carp — threaten native fish in the Great Lakes as they multiply and spread. And still there is not an adequate response from Washington.

Biologists have determined that four grass carp caught by a commercial fisherman in the Sandusky River in 2012 were born there. Alarmingly, this is the first confirmed case of any Asian carp species reproducing in the Great Lakes or their tributaries.

Grass carp overeat vegetation also used by native fish and wildfowl; bighead and silver carp gorge themselves on plankton that native fish otherwise would eat. ...

In July, the Obama Administration announced a $50 million plan to improve the network of electrical and other barriers to contain carp. It isn't enough. ... The ultimate solution is permanent separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainage basins by closing the Chicago canal, a human-made superhighway for invasive species. ... At the same time, Congress needs to fund fully the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which had bipartisan support when President Obama established it in 2009 with an annual budget of $475 million. This year's spending fell to $285 million because of the budget sequester. ...

A federal law that aims to prevent the spread of "injurious" species must be updated to identify — and restrict — invasive species before they are imported, not after.

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